True Self Show
by Rappatell
Summary: Natasha wants a family, but her job restricts her from ever thinking about having kids. Bruce wants to tell Natasha about his feelings for her, but he doesn't want their friendship to change. Steve has feelings for someone on the team, and nobody knows but him. Tony just suffered a rough breakup with Pepper, and his heart isn't ready for love.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a sort of AU where Nick Fury still owned the avengers after Loki. May become why they left** **SHIELD. Enjoy!**

Not only was it sexist, but it was wrong, so wrong.

How anyone would draw her with everyone, Stark, Rogers, Barton.

"Miss Romanoff, I had to teach you about this "Fan art" to show you how dangerous it would be to be with anyone on this team. You could herd the media in a frenzy, they would want to know everything about you _and_ the person you're with. They would scatter around, asking anyone and everyone for information." Fury stated, leaving Natasha in shock and confusion.

"Are you trying to blame me? If being with Bruce leads me to my death, so be it."

"No Natasha, an enemy wouldn't care about your love life, but they would care if the flash of a camera reveals something about yourself, or our organization. When you're in love, you're more inclined to do things like go to a restaurant, or go to a park. We wouldn't want to be replacing you for someone more secretive about their personal life." Fury responded, collecting his laptop and phone.

Natasha was hurt, she wanted adoption, she wanted a family. All her training couldn't just be thrown away however, and she had her own twisted sort of family here, which she had to protect.

Everyone on the group was loving the new S.H.E.I.L.D tower in New York City, except for Bruce. Natasha could tell through her interpreting that something was wrong with him. The rise and fall of his chest seemed heavy, loaded with burden. There was a minor glint of sadness in his eye every time he looked her way.

* * *

"I could break the siding of this building with one fist." Bruce commented in the lab as Tony quietly fixed the siding of his suit.

Tony stopped his work for the first time in an hour and looked at Bruce. It took all of his manpower not to go right back to his work, forgetting about what Bruce said and focusing on his suit. "I don't wanna insert myself in on your problem, but does this have anything to do with Natasha?"

"Good Morning Tony, Bruce!" Entered Natasha in her business clothing.

Bruce and Natasha had a very... interesting friendship. Every inch of Bruce was screwed up, and Natasha was the only one who understood that, and didn't care.

"Fury wants a meeting about the team, about how we're doing." Natasha said, looking at her phone while Tony rolled his eyes.

Natasha shot Tony a look and turned to Bruce, "He wants a meeting with the whole team, some sort of, "Super Meeting" to talk about _everything_ that has been on our minds. I'm sure a large percentage of us will want to talk about our personal lives, and Fury thinks it will make us closer as a team. I'm sure some relationships need some polishing, and I think it will help the team too."

Tony looked to Bruce, who was embedding each word Natasha said with an intense stare that he recognized as love. He remembered when he used to wear the same look when he talked to Pepper, before they broke up. Tony could tell that Natasha was figuring out the same look, the way her brow furrowed in concentration, the way she did when she was reading facial expressions.

"Well, a bright and early meeting is exactly what I need!" Tony exclaimed, trying to put a look of sheer happiness on his face, even though he was just leaving to give Natasha and Bruce some privacy.

Natasha was looking intensely at the email on her mobile phone when Bruce took hold of her hand. Natasha chose to look surprised, though normally she would hide her emotions. But she wished she had chosen to hide her emotions, as Bruce took his hand back immediately.

Bruce's hardy hands were clammy as Natasha took his hand again, looking at him with genuine smile. Her voice sounded like a song as she whispered, "Don't be afraid."

Bruce was muttering incomprehensibly as Natasha embraced him. "Just make sure you're present at the meeting, okay?"

* * *

Steve of course, being the "goody-goody" that he is, got to the meeting 30 minutes before it started. He scaled the meeting room, pacing past the seven chairs circled around a large oak table. He thought this meeting would entail him to feel relaxed and calm, but all it made him do was stress. He didn't want to take away confidentiality, especially when it might end up making him spill his secret.

The clock chimed at 8:00 PM, announcing the start of the meeting. The committee of Superheros glanced awkwardly at each other as their boss cleared his throat.

"I know who you have a crush on Bruce." Fury smirked as Bruce looked up from his digital device in shock.

As if Fury couldn't puncture any more wounds, he turned to Steve. "And I don't know who, but you're also having feelings for a colleague."

Steve was furious, did he somehow have tape recorders in his studio apartment? Did he spy on their every move? Another bolt of anger rushed through Steve. Rage blasting through him, he yelled, "Of course you know! We sacrifice our lives for this team, we do everything we can to protect the world, and yet we can't have any privacy to worry about our personal lives! Underneath all of our armor, there are real people. It's true, love and family get in the way, but you have to understand, it's our choice whether we make that risk."

Natasha's stomach churned when she realized that's all she wanted. She didn't want to be a sensation all across the world, or to be an avengers for the rest of her life, she wanted to be a mother. She wanted to spend the rest of her lifetime with happy memories of teaching her children how to walk, talk, read, and write. She wanted the routine of waking up with her caring father, and her smart, funny, beautiful kids. She wanted to sleep, with her husband's arm wrapped across her body, keeping her safe and warm. She wanted a pet, a house, a reason to be her best.

She shook her head and she was back in the office, with its seven uncomfortable chairs and its huge glass window overlooking New York City. Natasha didn't mean to tune out, but her mind just got away from her.

She looked around at her team members, and their facial expressions said anything but happiness.

"I was allowed to be with somebody because they weren't on the team?" Tony asked, his tone half curiosity and half anger, the lighting of the room casting a dark shadow across his face.

The question was winning him looks of respect from his team members, but from Fury, he was given a look of helplessness. "I understand your objection towards this Tony, but you have to understand, this is for the greater good." Nick looked at Tony carefully, as if the billionaire would collapse in frustration at any moment.

"I don't get it... It's as if you don't value our lives." Steve replied, his bright blue eyes glancing from Tony to Fury.

Natasha was talented at many things, but understanding her own feelings wasn't one of them. She pushed them away, deep inside of her, where no one would discover them. But in extreme cases, she would let her emotions show, she would say what she wanted without thinking twice, she would act like her true self. Gathering momentum inside of her, she stood up quickly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fail you, it's just... I was ordered to do it by Fury!"

As the team tried to wrap their head around what she just said, Natasha ran out of the office, rushing to the elevator and pressing the button to her personal floor. Her cheeks were wet from crying, and she wished she hadn't let her true self show.


	2. Chapter 2

The volume of Tony's rock music was deafening, as were the thoughts spinning around in his head that morning. He was finally coming to a conclusion on what to say to Natasha when Steve burst through the door. "Delivery," Was all he said, and Tony nodded.

He made one last adjustment to his suit and then left the lab, Steve trailing behind him. "Stop pretending you know what to do, he's dangerous and you know that. I realize we have his scepter, but we're still not safe." Steve said, taking Tony's hand and forcing him to stop walking.

"It doesn't matter, I'll ask him a few questions, jot a few notes, and then we're done!"

All of a sudden, a river of words rushed out of Steve's mouth. "Tony, just promise me you'll be careful, he's very dangerous and we all know that he could escape the place he's in right now, or hurt you, and I would hate for him to hurt you. That's my worst nightmare because-"

"You would hate to have me break up the team, blah blah blah..."

Steve was too shocked to even wave his hand, or say a short "bye", as Tony walked down the hallway to face Loki.

If only he knew the significance of the words Steve was about to say.

* * *

Nick Fury was still supervising the interview, despite the whole team being angry with him.

"Here Tony, take this in case of an emergency. I'm not paying for your medical bill if you get hurt." Fury said, taking out a sleeker, smaller version of a stark phone that Tony remembered creating pretty recently.

"Even if an incident does occur, you have security cameras, right?" Tony asked, suddenly nervous about the task he was about to do.

"Listen Stark, you have skill, don't doubt yourself." With a sigh, his boss nodded his head and added, "and yes, we do have security cameras."

Tony was still trying to bend his head around what happened last night as he headed toward the door, leading to Loki.

* * *

 ** _Last Night (SHIELD Tower)_**

By then, everyone had solved the mystery, Natasha was spying on their personal lives for Nick Fury. That's why they could never preserve peace, or privacy. Tony tried to hold on to the words she just said, tried to picture her face as she left the room.

 _"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fail you, it's just... I was ordered to do it by Fury..."_

The billionaire let out a low whistle as he stood up. "I have to go, but I definitely had a blast guys." He remarked, as the team tried to recover from their shock. Steve stood up, parking himself in front of Tony. "Hang on Tony, can't we talk this out with the team first?"

"At this rate, I don't think I can trust anyone on my team. Plus, wasn't this whole meeting Fury's idea? Do me a favor, and go talk to him yourself. The whole team is in trouble, because we know Loki is back again, and he wants to talk about family shit. The human race is in danger, but we can't even trust ourselves."

"Let's not start jumping into fights here guys..." Clint cautioned as Thor nodded.

Tony huffed a little in protest before sitting back down in one of the office chairs and glaring at Fury from across the room.

Steve took of his coat and cleared his throat before addressing Nick. "So, you weren't spying on us from your computer?"

"No, I thought that would've stirred up too much of a riot. So I had Natasha posing as my security camera. I originally made her spy on you so I could devise a way to keep the team in order. Then, it became tough to ignore the fact that the media could discover so much about you. That's why I can't show any sympathy toward your personal lives, the media has no sympathy." Their Boss's voice conveyed no emotion as he explained the problem.

"That means no marriage, no kids, no life outside of the avengers?" Clint asked, his usual eccentric smile replaced with a frightened look.

"You _can_ have a husband or wife, but not anyone in the avengers." Nick tried to approach the topic gently, but instead was earned with glares from his team.

"That's ridiculous..." Bruce commented, frustration seeping into his voice.

"It's only for your _protection_." Fury's nose flared with anger as he eyed the avengers.

"Admit it, you were just trying to insert yourself into our problems." Tony added, finally able to understand how Bruce felt.

"I'm leaving," Was the boss's response as he followed the same path as Natasha, and the five team members sat in complete silence.

* * *

 _ **Present Time (SHIELD Tower)**_

Tony walked down the hallway to Loki, the silence complete bliss as he went over what happened yesterday.

The next minute he was face to face with the creator of all the destruction in Manhattan, the person who still haunted his dreams, the man that came back, despite being almost certain that he was dead. The man who inadvertently ruined his relationship with Pepper. So what if he had missed a super important dinner date, he was busy saving the world!

He tried to shove those thoughts out of his head as he looked at Loki through the bulletproof glass he was being held in. The billionaire took one look at the questions he was given and threw them on the ground. Who needed that handbook anyway?

"You can stop trying to lurk in the shadows Loki, It's so bright in here there isn't a damn place to look menacing in." Tony remarked, knocking an ashamed look into the villain.

"Maybe if you consider freeing me, I could do it somewhere else..." Loki said seductively.

"First of all, no way... and second of all, I hate to break it to you, but I'm _not_ gay."

"Doesn't mean I can't... steer you in that direction." Loki offered, searching for some encouragement in Tony's eyes.

"They should really employ someone else to this these kinds of things." Tony deadpanned, stretching out lazily, sighing when he heard his joint pop as he continued. "They should get goody-two-shoes to interview you. Anyway, first question... Why did you come back to earth?"

Loki continually dodged the answer as the genius kept repeating the question.

"I wanted... extra power." Loki finally admitted as Tony stopped in his tracks at his final answer, his brown shoes making a thud on the concrete floor.

"Did you want gold, jewels, money?"

With careful precision, so not to give away to much, Loki answered with, "A stone."

Tony looked at Loki's smirk, detecting his facial features like Natasha taught him to, and saw that he was telling the truth.

"Must be one special bulb of energy."

Loki laughed and then mocked Tony, "First of all, it is, and second of all, get out."

* * *

They were three words Steve had never said before, to anyone. Even when he was crashing into the ice on that plane, he never said it to Peggy.

He knew that if he said it, a bond would either be strengthened or weakened.

He knew the mechanic, the genius, the fellow teammate, would be surprised.

But with the shine from the early morning sun, and the smell of fresh coffee filling his senses, he knew it was now or never.

But Steve also knew, after Tony was done with Loki, he would capture himself in his work, locking the door, shutting out the world.

Being the stubborn man he was, Steve told JARVIS not to let Tony lock his door when he came back. Then, after doing that, Steve drew on his journal in the empty kitchen, until it was lunch. While he waited for Tony to finish his interview, he recalled a memory when Tony had first found out about his drawing.

 _"You know, you should really go to an art college or something like that. Your art is super good."_

 _Steve blushed, and his hand started to cramp as he tightened his hold on his pencil._

Every time since then, whenever Steve would try talk to Tony, his brain went into shutdown mode. Tony knew that, and was always using it against him.

 _"You don't even need that shield, you could kill people with those looks."_

 _"Sorry, am I getting too close to you right now?"_

 _"You look cozy in that blanket, mind if I join you?"_

But it was Steve's turn to talk, and he made his way down to Tony's lab without a second thought. Every limb in his body told him to head back, but his heart knew he had to admit his feelings.

 _"You could kill people with those looks..."_

 _"Too close..."_

 _"Join you..."_

He went from the top of the stairs to the bottom in a matter of seconds, and then he was in front of Tony's lab. Steve opened the door and it emitted a soft creak.

Daytime light streamed through the lab windows, and dummy sat in the corner, whirring frantically. "Dummy, I told you to get me a coffee, not a coke!" Tony complained a little too harshly to the robot helper.

Despite the visible irritation, Steve decided to enter Tony's lab.

"Hey Tony, It's been a long time." Steve tried to say something clever.

"You're saying this morning was a long time ago?" Tony questioned, sending all his holograms into a folder, as he ordered his robots You and Butterfingers to clean up the mess of scrap metal lying on the ground.

Steve's cheeks burned and Tony chuckled as he witnessed the embarrassed super soldier sputter out a inconceivable sentence.

Behind Steve, Dummy held a cup of coffee in his single claw. He moved out of the way to let Dummy pass, however, unknown to Dummy and Steve, Tony had bolted out the door of the lab.

Tony's heart was beating fast but he knew he couldn't be falling for the other man. He was the leader of the avengers, he was the hero of this country, Tony _couldn't_ be falling for him.

He was the source of his teasing, the reason he got out of his lab, the only person who would laugh at his jokes.

Tony told himself with conviction, that he was nothing more than a friend.

 _A friend..._


	3. Chapter 3

She felt like a waste of space.

Her objective wasn't to hurt her teammates, all she wanted to do was help her team.

Natasha laid down on the basic black and white cotton bed on her personal floor.

She had the opportunity to get up earlier in the day, when JARVIS said that Bruce was outside of her bedroom, but Natasha knew she couldn't talk to him.

But she was running out of food in her mini fridge, and she knew she had to go to the Avengers Kitchen soon.

Climbing up the stairs, she realized that she had spent only a day in her room alone.

It had _felt_ like a solid week.

* * *

It was the day after he had talked to Loki, and Fury had stopped assigning Tony tasks to work on, instead telling him to "take a break".

It was like the whole universe had shut down, and suddenly, there was nothing to do. Bruce was being a total bore, Steve was who knows where, Thor was paying a visit to Asgard, and Clint was on vacation with his wife.

That's why, at first, Tony didn't see Natasha tiptoeing in the distance.

"Getting a small bite to eat, huh?" He decided to cast a look in her direction, but she was gone.

He shouldn't have then gone to Natasha's room, but Tony loved to wreak havoc. He gently stepped on each individual step, making sure not to make too much noise on the stairs as he went to Natasha's Floor of the tower.

He should have known that there was no way Natasha would let him in.

"Please let me in, today has been so boring! Your presence would make it a real party!"

"For the tenth time Tony, I am not letting you in my room."

Tony chewed on his bottom lip as he weighed his options. He _could_ leave Natasha in a state of depression, or he could go in and make her feel better.

"If you let me in, I'll let you know about my homosexuality."

He was putting up an offer he knew Natasha wouldn't refuse. Aside from the fact that he knew Natasha might spill all of the things he was going to tell her, Tony knew she needed someone to talk to.

"Fine, but I have multiple weapons in here, so If you think about doing anything "Tony-like", you might wanna forget it." She said, opening the door and giving Tony a particular look that was half threatening and half amused.

Tony tossed his head back in a nod and walked into her room. Inside there was a queen sized bed and a small bar with a mini fridge towards the back of the room. Towards the front there was a clock that showed the time 2:00 PM above two chairs and a small round table.

"So, this is your personal room."

"It needs some tidying, I know."

There was a black belt on the microwave, chip bags and ice cream containers on the floor, and clothes lazily thrown throughout the room.

"Enjoying the scenery Tony?"

"It looks like a bomb exploded in here."

While Natasha went on the hunt for some food, Tony sat down on one of the dining chairs, taking out his stark phone and scrolling through his emails leisurely. He tried to take his mind off of his escape from Steve yesterday, but he couldn't stop thinking about how defeated Steve looked when he left the lab, how his eyes threatened to spill tears as he walked up the stairs. Tony hadn't realized how valuable Steve was to him until he saw him cry, and all he wanted to do was wrap his arms around the larger man, making sure he was okay.

"Stay right there, I'll get you some coffee." Natasha said, wearing a kind smile with silent sympathy in her eyes.

At that moment, Tony understood Natasha. That rush of emotion after their meeting with Nick Fury wasn't just Natasha regretting her actions, It was Natasha knowing that she could never be with Bruce, that she could never have a normal life.

That's when Tony realized both of their situations were tough, and they were going to solve them together.

A second later, Natasha was handing him a cup of steaming coffee, the smell making his mouth water. He gulped it down in less than a minute, while she was sipping it thoughtfully, tracing the rim of the mug with her finger.

Uncertainty lingered in the air as the two avengers thought of where to start their discussion. In the background, the faucet dripped, It's soft pitter patter echoing the thoughts in their mind.

"It's all my fault Tony..." Natasha began.

"Nonsense, It's not just you that has to take the blame for this. Most of our rage is directed at Fury."

"Well, I can't help but think that I'm the reason for all of this tension." She sighed as Tony looked at her in amusement. His dark eyes reflected the afternoon light as he chuckled.

"Natasha, I can give you twenty reasons why you weren't the problem." He said, speaking into his empty cup of coffee.

"Well, then what _is_ disrupting the peace?"

"People aren't liking the way Fury's running things." Tony replied, staring out the window that overlooked New York City.

Thirty seconds passed before Natasha asked the question that the billionaire was dreading.

Casting him a devilish grin, she asked, "So, who is the lucky guy?"

He wished he could snag that stupid grin off of her face, but he remained his composure and answered, "I'm sure you know who it is."

"Wait, is this a joke? You don't mean to say..." Alarm crossed her face as she crossed her arms.

"I know, how can I be interested in Steve of all people?"

A gap of silence filled the room as they contemplated this. Tony could only hope Natasha was thinking about keeping this information a secret.

"I made a bet with Clint that you guys would end up together."

Natasha was the queen of bets, she always won. She never made a mistake, and Clint should have known that. With a shake of his head and a slow laugh, Tony smiled.

"Thanks for protecting this whole thing from Fury, I glad he doesn't know I have feelings for Steve."

"I'd talk to Steve." Natasha commented, bringing the top of the her mug to her lips as she drank her coffee.

"Ugh, manual communication is so 19th century."

"And admitting your sexuality to people is _so_ 21st century. I'll tell you this, no matter what, don't hold back on your feelings. Show him how you feel, It's what I should've done with Bruce." Turning her mug in her hands, she stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm dealing with an issue that I should have solved long ago."


	4. Chapter 4

She knew there was no other option left. So she started the task of running up three flights of stairs, heart pounding and hair flying. She almost fell three times, because her mind was focused on one thing and one thing only. About sixty second later she was there, one door away from her life changing forever.

* * *

Bruce didn't think that Natasha would return to his lab after she had ignored his calls, emails, and visit to her room, but Natasha was full of surprises.

She entered the lab with a genuine smile and a glimmer of sadness in her eyes. To a person outside of the avengers her entrance might look ordinary or even typical. But Bruce knew this sudden approach was much more than a quick hello.

Bruce walked up to Natasha, wrapping his arms around her soft clothing and putting his head on her shoulder.

"The likelihood of this ever working out is slim, but I know a way our relationship can happen." Natasha said as she stroked Bruce's hair from his eyes.

It was hard to miss the determination in her voice, so strong and so sure, and there was no mistaking the protectiveness in her expression.

In general, Bruce felt safe.

Behind them, a glowing figure smirked.

The evening glow of the sunset outlined her tall lanky figure, making the woman seem far less threatening than she actually was.

It was clear that she was going to do damage.

And as she saw the new couple embracing, she realized that these two were her first targets.

* * *

Just as Bruce's eyes began to water on Natasha's sleeve, something came up behind them.

"Give me that wrench." Natasha whispered as quietly as she could as to not expose herself.

"Hurry," She murmured as Bruce positioned himself to grab the object.

But as she turned around she froze, wrench in her hands, she thought it wasn't possible, It was only Loki shape shifting...

"Sister?" Her eyes became damp with all the memories of her life before the Avengers as she continued,"I thought they killed you in the red room."

"I work for Thanos now, and he sent me to rescue Loki." She said, her daring smile the same as Natasha's.

Bruce came up to protect his girlfriend, anger rushing through him.

"Thanos can fix this... stuff later." Natasha's sister smirked, her dark hair and green eyes shining. Looking around the workshop, she shook her head and headed out the door.

 **As if I didn't have enough elements to this story, I decided to give Natasha a sister. So this story Is obviously not going to be short. Thank you to everyone who Reviewed, Followed, and Favorited.**


	5. Chapter 5

Fury lifted the pound of papers roughly, slamming them on the meeting table with a grunt. Looking at his team square in the eye, he grumbled,"So you're telling me that a thing called Thanos is using Loki, Natasha's sister Alisa, and a bunch of S.H.I.E.L.D agents to collect stones?"

"That is our claim." Steve said, the leader of the team staring Nick straight in the eye.

Fury swallowed nervously, staring at the team carefully. "Fantastic, another threat." He managed, gesturing to the condition of the group.

Natasha looked shaken under the evening light as Bruce held her hand comfortingly. Tony and Clint shared a look of uncertainty as Thor looked at his hands awkwardly.

"We shouldn't waste time, If he gets a hold on any of the infinity stones he could have powers that are beyond containment." Fury said, turning on his heel and heading toward the door.

There was a brief silence as Steve cleared his throat and looked Fury in the eye,"Also, we're leaving S.H.I.E.L.D."

If Fury was surprised, he didn't express it. He just shook his head and left the room in a rush as the avengers team looked after him, some disappointed and some relieved.

"That was a bit dramatic." Tony muttered, saying what everyone was thinking.

"Did anyone mention where we're going to stay now that we can't be in the S.H.I.E.L.D tower?" Natasha asked as she began to stray from Bruce, moving over to the other side of the room.

The sight of Natasha all alone reminded the team of the situation she was in.

She just found out her sister works for a maniac alien thing that wants to more or less destroy the world.

Natasha's mind was crawling with things she wanted to say, most about her sister.

 _"I don't know Alisa's motives, but I know she doesn't mean to be the bad guy."_

 _"She has the brain capacity to understand it's a mistake, just let her try."_

 _"If you would just give me one chance to talk to her, I could convince her to join our team."_

But in addition to her thoughts, Bruce had thoughts of his own. They were mixing around in his brain, desperate to be spoken aloud.

 _"When you let go of my hand and started centering yourself in the middle of the room, was it because you thought I was being annoying?"_

In fact, all of the avengers had things they wanted to say, condensing in their mind, begging to be let out.

 _"I bet the difficulty of this mission is easier that trying to talk to Tony..."_ Steve thought.

 _"Dear Steve, stop looking at me like I'm the world's hardest puzzle to figure out."_

It took all of Tony's manpower not to say that out loud.

"So are we getting a new tower or not?" Clint asked, the simplicity of the statement pulling everyone out of their thoughts.

"I think I have somewhere where we can stay..." Tony assured hesitantly.

* * *

Natasha got on the plane going to Tony's house in Malibu with questions she knew only her new friend could answer.

"Hey, why's Thor being so quiet?" She whispered to Tony, his fudge brown eyes looking at her with confusion.

"You're coming to _me_ for input on how the team is doing?" He asks so loudly the entire team turns to look at them.

"Lower your voice Tony!" Natasha scolded, grabbing a beer from the cooler of the private jet.

"So, I saw you and Bruce making out in the hallway." Clint smirked, balancing a bottle of beer between his fingers as well. Natasha gave him a look of defeat and rolled her eyes. It took all of her strength not to run over and punch that stupid grin off his face.

"Clint, you know I love you with all my heart, but you are going to get hell for saying that." Natasha said, the statement rolling of her tongue like she said it every other week.

Steve watched their conversation at a distance, wishing he had remembered to bring his journal so he could sketch. He was so stressed out, and all he wanted was the option of slowly marking a clean white page with thick, dark lines.

But out of the whole team, no one understood what Thor was going through. How embarrassed he was every time he saw his brother doing something to take over the world. Whatever evil thing Loki did, Thor somehow felt responsible.

* * *

They finally landed in Malibu, Tony's chocolate brown eyes gleaming as he talked about his house.

"Okay let's go already, I can't wait to show you the living room and the theater! It's my own creation, so obviously it's amazing. The old house had suffered some pretty rough destruction, so I made a new one against Pepper's advice of course." His voice shook slightly at the mention of Pepper as he stepped off the plane.

"Wow Tony, is this your first building without the Stark logo on it?" Bruce commented sarcastically, folding up the crossword puzzle he was working on as he stood up with the team.

"Guys, the purpose of this was to find somewhere to stay, not to destroy each other by the end of the week." Steve said, who just realized he was starving.

"Also, do you have anything to eat..." Steve mumbled next to Tony, somewhat embarrassed. The sentence rolled of his tongue unevenly, his voice trembling slightly.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team was scattering into their respective conversations. Natasha and Clint argued like the old friends they were, as Thor and Bruce both expressed their concerns about the new threat arising.

Tony came to the front door of his house and opened it, walking inside as he flipped a light switch and lit the whole house in a dramatic way.

Closing the door when everyone got inside, Tony gestured to the grand living room. "So, champagne anyone?" He said, turning on his heel toward his kitchen.

From Tony's perspective, the house was just like every house he's ever known, large and rich. But from his team's view, the wide living room with striking floor-to-ceiling windows and luxurious furniture was unlike anything they had ever seen before.

Bruce just wanted to collapse on a soft bed for a couple of hours, but he found himself gravitating toward the kitchen. The last thing he wanted to do was to miss out on the rare occurrence of his team together, especially when they were all getting along so well.

Steve however, felt like he wanted to cry. They had to dash around the country from a seemingly unstoppable force while he struggled with his feelings for Tony and still had to attempt to lead his team to an unlikely victory. To put it mildly, he was stressed.

The kitchen was bright and modern, It's white cabinets and counter top matching perfectly with black bar stools and cupboards. Everyone wondered why Tony would ever abandon this house to live in S.H.I.E.L.D. tower. In fact, as Tony poured a drink for himself, he wondered why he left his house too.

Natasha noticed a giant deck and opened the door, immediately carrying a gentle breeze into the kitchen. She stepped out onto the deck and took in the large cliff below her and the endless stars above her. She just wanted to lay down beneath those stars, watching them twinkle as the ocean's waves crashed into the cliff nearby.

Bruce took a look around the kitchen, and noticed magazine covers of Tony plastered on the wall. A newsletter, a certificate, an award. "You sure have a lot of achievements Tony." He said as the other man rolled his eyes.

"I'm still sorting through which ones are for actually doing something." Came his response. "Most them are f-for... uh... being my Dad's..."

"Are you already drunk Tony?" Bruce sighed, travelling over to Tony's side.

"I'm not drunk Bruce, so get away from me or I'll punch you. I just have a lot of work, and I'm really behind. " He lied, a distracted look washing over his face.

Steve also noticed the blank look on Tony's face, and after finishing his bowl of cereal he walked over to talk to him.

"Hey Tony, didn't you say that you had your own _personal_ cinema?" Steve asked, putting extra emphasis on the word personal.

"Oh yeah, let me show you..." Tony said as he passed Bruce, still lost in thought.

As soon as they weren't visible to the team, Steve whispered as quietly as he could, "Are you okay Tony?"

Tony shook his head softly and sighed, looking up at Steve with watering eyes. Steve grabbed Tony's arm and pulled him into the closest room. He flipped the lights on and the theater lit up, It's eight brown chairs facing a large flat screen TV.

"Listen Rogers, while I would love to spill all my secrets to you, I really think I should be-"

Steve grabbed Tony's waist without thinking, pulling him closer until they were inches apart and Tony was looking into Steve's incredibly blue eyes.

"Why don't you trust me?" Steve asked faintly, coming closer to Tony's lips, confidence suddenly surging through him.

Exercising caution, Tony leaned in as well, his heart racing as he forgot about his earlier problems. He was shaking slightly as his nerves got the best of him. It was now or never, and Tony felt his tears come back up as he realized how his last relationship ended. How he felt exactly like this every time he kissed Pepper. The rush of tears came so suddenly Steve jumped back slightly, before quickly immediately hugging Tony.

Steve wrapped his arms around Tony tightly, silently cursing himself for being so stupid.

 _"There's no chemistry between you and him, that relationship could never happen. Why did you even try to kiss him?"_

Tony pulled away, wiping his eyes as he mumbled, "Thanks."

A flame of confidence still burned in Steve's mind as he nodded and asked, "Do you wanna talk about anything?"

Tony didn't want to admit why that magazine brought back such harsh memories of his father to Steve. How when he looked at the title it made him agitated beyond words. _"Howard Stark's son takes after father, genius inherits his parent's charm and wit..."_ But Steve's look of hopefulness and his concentration on Tony made the billionaire change his mind.

"It's about Pepper..." Tony said, half-lying as he admitted his loss to Steve. He wasn't ready to admit his hatred toward his father to someone who had been friends with him, and knew him so well.

So he told Steve everything, the nightmares he had of his past and how Pepper would comfort him, the pain he suffered when they broke up, and the reason he has anxiety attacks so much. Steve spent those sixty minutes looking into Tony's eyes especially, how they would grow bitter to cheerful in a matter of seconds.

Tony felt the aching of chest disappear as he turned to Steve, suddenly realizing how late it was.

"You must be so tired of listening to me talk." He sputtered as he blasted out of the room when a strong grip held him back.

"Is there... a chance you'd ever love someone again?" Steve's exhausted blue eyes were calm and anticipating. He had wanted to ask this question for so long, he had wanted to say the words to him for months.

"Yes." He answered after thanking him. "But only if I meet the right guy." Tony left swiftly after he responded to Steve's question, leaving the blonde in a haze of euphoria.

Because that weird, rushed sentence said everything it needed to.

 _Only if I meet the right **guy**..._


	6. Chapter 6

"Oh my god Tony, we were wondering where you and Steve were." Bruce said, his voice defeated and tired. "We were gonna go into one of the bedrooms to sleep, but we weren't in the mood for a lecture from you about touching your stuff."

Natasha's bright green eyes were tired as she sighed, "Thor and Clint found two bedrooms for themselves to sleep in. I almost regret waiting for you, I'd rather be sleeping right now."

Tony's hair was wild and sticking out every which way as he responded, "There's only two more bedrooms..."

Steve happened to come into the kitchen at that moment, and he looked at Bruce and Natasha slightly confused. "You guys are also up?" The couple nodded and looked to Tony, who was shaking his head rapidly.

"Steve, there's only two more bedrooms..." Tony confessed as Steve turned pale.

"If that's the case, then I guess we'll have to sleep together." Steve said as his breathing quickened and his heartbeat became louder.

Natasha gave a soft chuckle and Bruce shot her a look. _Had Tony and Steve become a couple?_ Natasha had watched Bruce's questioning look and shook her head slowly, as if asking herself the same thing.

Steve's cheek filled with warmth as he cleared his throat, "I'm gonna go get ready for bed." He grabbed his suitcase next to the door and dragged it behind him.

He left the room and went down the same hallway as the theater until he reached the end. A master bedroom with a giant crystal chandelier and a huge white bed was waiting for him, which he guessed was the room he was going to be in. Steve brought his blue suitcase over to the bouncy bed and set it on the top, taking out his night clothes before heading to the master bathroom to the left of him.

* * *

"You realize," Natasha folded her hands together as she looked at Tony, "You could've easily had Steve sleep on the couch..." She stared at Tony with an amused expression.

Tony ducked his head down in a shamefully guilty way as Bruce chuckled. "So it's official, you have feelings for Steve." He commented politely as Tony nodded.

"I'm beginning to, at least. Anyway, you guys should head to bed. Big day tomorrow!" He offered, anxious to stop talking about his feelings.

"Easy there Tony, we haven't gone over everything yet." Natasha interjected, leaving Tony with a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. The couple shared a look as the he held his breath nervously.

Natasha narrowed her eyes as she continued, "What happened in that theater room?"

Tony settled his eyes on the ground as he shrugged his shoulders. But in reality he wanted to talk about how he almost kissed Steve, how Steve's warm breath still existed in his mind, how Steve had grabbed him sharply by the waist and had pulled him so close Tony thought that he was dreaming.

Bruce glanced at Tony's conflicted face as Natasha persisted. "Tell me what happened or I'll force it out of you." Natasha threatened, her crisp voice cutting through Tony's thoughts.

He peered at Bruce, who was staring back at him blankly. Dozens of minutes passed before Tony spoke, and his words sounded clumsy and unsure as he admitted that Steve almost kissed him.

Natasha's intense look faded as she smiled. There was an automatic difference in her demeanor as she relaxed her face and laughed. "I was beginning to worry that you had started crying in there or something. You know if you're upset with something you can always tell us."

When Tony didn't immediately start to loosen up, Natasha threw Bruce a perplexed look. Tony looked shameful, guilty even. Suddenly, Natasha understood his gloomy character. She grabbed Bruce's hand in delight and pulled him into their guest bedroom, after saying goodbye to Tony.

"I see a relationship in the future! I was right! Clint owes me so much money." She whispered, planting a firm kiss on Bruce's lips before she continued, "You see, Tony must have told Steve about something very private and important in his life. It's the ultimate gesture of trust. Now all we have to do is stay as not involved as humanly possible. The group can't know about them either, or it will ruin their whole relationship."

"That's great Natasha, but first, how are they going to admit their feelings?"

"We have twelve more days in here, I think with the right amount of insanity, craziness, and drama, they'll figure it out."

* * *

Blinking back tears, Steve looked at himself in the mirror.

 _"Why is it so hard to admit my affection to Tony?"_

Steve cringed when he thought of the awkward moment in the theater where he had tried to kiss Tony and the billionaire had thought of Pepper. Fighting back tears, he left the bathroom and climbed onto the bed. But he sat up suddenly when he heard a noise outside of the room. He relaxed when he saw Tony enter the room. He entered the bathroom to put on his night clothes and Steve pulled the blanket over himself.

Tony came out of the bathroom and Steve suddenly felt lucky to have his lower body under the blanket. Tony was wearing a regular white tank top that hugged his body tightly and showed off his arm muscles. "You look good in that shirt," Steve blurted without thinking.

Tony shot him a humble smile and jumped onto the other side of the bed.

"Do you think it would be easier for me to sleep on the couch?" Steve asked as he threw back his head, bracing himself for Tony to tell him to move there. He knew Tony was probably uncomfortable about the situation anyway, and if he moved to the couch Tony would be more cozy.

"It wouldn't fix anything." Tony replied, his usual careless smile replaced with a slightly nervous frown.

The fire in Tony's stare was unmistakable, Steve knew what he meant. Leaving for the couch wouldn't fix the feelings that they had for each other. Leaving his room would make things worse, It would make them so desperate to kiss each other that they wouldn't care if they were caught.

Becoming more nervous as he scooted closer to Tony, a million thoughts buzzed through his head. He grabbed the fabric of Tony's shirt and pulled him closer until they were less than an inch apart. Halting suddenly, he searched Tony's eyes. They kept darting down to Steve's pink lips, as if he was waiting for Steve to make the first move.

So with an easy movement, Steve grabbed Tony closer to him and pressed their lips together.

Tony wrapped his arm around Steve's neck and tilted his head as Steve dragged his lips on Tony's.

He didn't regret anything about kissing Tony.

 **Thank you to everyone who has Followed and Favorited so far! It really means a lot to me.**


	7. Chapter 7

In general, it was an awkward morning the next day.

Steve was the first person on the team to wake up. He woke up to the sound of the ocean and the sunrise, his heart cheerful and his expression contented. He had grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and went out for a run around Malibu.

Then, Natasha woke up from the modern silver and white bed abruptly. She sat up with the beginnings of a headache and walked to the kitchen to get herself a mug of coffee.

Next was Tony, who awakened with gripping fear from a nightmare he had. He held his blanket tightly in a terror-stricken state as he wished Steve was next to him. He couldn't bring himself to go into the kitchen, he was too afraid for his team to see him so vulnerable.

The amber sunrise had just finished ascending as Clint woke up, smelling the fresh pot of coffee Natasha had brewed. He left the white and gold bedroom he was sleeping in refreshed and ready to start the day. Thor awakened next with an easy start, and left his bedroom minutes after Clint had awoken.

Bruce stayed in his bedroom sleeping until he felt the warm morning sun streaming through the windows next to him. Blinking his eyes open, he stood up from the bed and walked into the kitchen where the rest of his team was.

Bruce couldn't believe his eyes. Natasha had a coffee mug captured between her hands as she laughed with Clint, their faces inches apart. Natasha's expression was suddenly embarrassed as she realized Bruce had seen them and she stood up to talk to Bruce.

Bruce's eyes became fiery as he yelled, "What the hell was that Natasha!?"

With a rapid hug, Bruce relaxed and Natasha explained, "Bruce, I was just reminiscing about working at Shield with Clint, we weren't about to kiss."

Bruce nodded slowly as Steve came in the kitchen from his run, his blonde hair pushed back and his body sweating.

"The sun is brutal out there." He explained as he grabbed some water from the fridge.

"There's a massive heat wave coming from Mexico." Bruce affirmed while gazing out at the ocean from the window next to him. The water seemed to sparkle with the intensity of a thousand diamonds as it crashed against the cliff behind Tony's house.

"So captain, how was sleeping with Tony?" Natasha added as she sat herself in a kitchen chair. Bruce turned to her in surprise. Natasha and Bruce were supposed to ignore Steve and Tony's relationship until they told the team themselves, but Natasha's question was obviously ignoring their plan.

Steve was met with a true problem. He could get angry and tell Natasha to stop talking, he could admit that he was with Tony, or he could lie about what actually happened.

His face turning red, he turned to her and began, "W-we just went to sleep."

The avengers rolled their eyes, not convinced in the slightest.

"Brilliant lies my friend." Thor cackled with a compassionate smile.

"Did anything else happen?" Clint commented, a pleasant grin on his face.

Guilt shaded Steve's eyes as he continued, "M-maybe something else happened..."

"You owe me 200 bucks Clint!" Natasha hollered with alarmingly loud liveliness.

Bruce and Steve shared a confused look as Clint sputtered, "B-but Natasha I thought h-he wouldn't... Okay fine, you win. Remind me to never start a bet with you ever again."

* * *

The warm sun brightened through the windows of Tony's room. The lonesome genius laid on his bed tired, and he wished he could bring himself to talk to his team. More flashbacks of last night came to his mind as he faintly heard Natasha announce, "You owe me 200 bucks Clint!"

The statement brought a baffling thought to Tony's head, _"Did Steve tell the team about what happened last night?"_

He threw a new shirt on and ran out of the room, his hair messy and his heart pounding.

Soon, he was standing in front of the team, their expressions amused.

"It's about time you woke up." Natasha blurted.

Tony looked at Steve in exasperation. _"Of course Steve was going to tell the team!"_

Shaking his head firmly, Tony walked up to the team and broke in, "Guys, nothing happened last night. Steve Rogers is not my boyfriend. So enjoy your breakfast, and for once worry about Thanos, who is probably trying to kill us at this very moment, and try not to worry about relationships that aren't happening."

The team didn't have anything else to say as they finished their breakfast and went back to their rooms. They didn't have the guts to argue with Tony and risk getting yelled at.

After that conflict, Steve went back to Tony's room and sat on his bed. The simple fact was, he wanted the team to know about him and Tony. He thought about how mad Tony got, and how much Tony was going to shout at him when he got into the room.

For hours, Steve drew on drawing paper he had found in Tony's office. He drew everything that was on his mind, but everything happened to be Tony. He was all he could think about, and that's when Steve knew they had to talk.

Steve found Tony in the theater room, his face tired and his eyes red. It was almost like he had been crying

"I'm not feeling so great Cap. Really bad headache..."

"Why were you dishonest to our team Tony?" Steve asked gently.

Tony closed his eyes in frustration. "Dammit Steve, I don't wanna talk about this right now. I just can't help it, I don't want the whole team to know because Natasha and Bruce already sort of know." Tony muttered as Steve looked around the room uncomfortably.

"They know..." He croaked as he looked into Tony's brown eyes.

Tony put his hands over his eyes and sighed, "I'm sorry Tony, I was being really harsh at breakfast today because I thought about something I haven't thought of for awhile. You know what? Why don't be tell the team today, at lunch."

"Really?"

"Really."

So at lunch, after Steve looked into Tony's dark eyes for confirmation, he told the team. The house erupted into Natasha's yelling once again as she claimed her 200 dollars for the second time that day.

"She's always going to win bets, isn't she?" Bruce observed with Tony, her alarming yelling echoing throughout the building.

"Poor Clint..." Tony sighed, pity edging his voice as he laughed.

He watched the team gush over the two new couples with a smile, but his mind kept drifting back to the nightmare he had.

His mind kept drifting back to a memory long before the avengers.

Long before Iron Man.

Long before his father died.


	8. Chapter 8

The gold sunset illuminated the ocean in front of the avengers. Tony sighed, the sight was so beautiful, and the first full day at his house was so perfect that he never wanted it to end.

"Where do we go from here?" Tony asked Steve.

"If there's a something trying to attack innocent people, we have to fight."

"Oh..." Tony breathed, wanting to let this moment carry on forever, not wanting to think about having to fight again soon.

"I'll never let you out of my sights if we have to fight." Steve said comfortingly, wrapping his arms around Tony and resting his chin in the crook of the billionaire's neck.

He wanted to believe Steve, but he knew if it was the choice between saving him or everyone else in the world Steve would choose to save the world. He was selfless and kind, everything Tony wasn't.

Bruce and Natasha were on the far right side of the deck, soaking in the last few minutes of the sunset peacefully. An easy smile came over Natasha's face as she realized how perfect this moment was, with everyone together like a family.

"Do we still have six more days at this house, or are we going off to fight?" Natasha asked Bruce as their hands clasped together easily.

"I think it's time to fight." Bruce said uneasily, the words coming off unnaturally.

Natasha looked at him with a slightly worried expression, but soon shook her head and smiled, "Are you ready to fight then?"

"In all honesty, no." He replied, finishing the sentence with a slight frown. "I think our future is uncertain." He let go of Natasha's hand and stuck his hand in his pocket nervously. "All we have is a green freak, a god, two assassins, a super soldier and some iron guy. Our team isn't perfect, and it sure as hell isn't going to win against unlimited power."

Natasha shook her head sadly as Thor and Clint headed inside the luxurious house. Steve and Tony soon headed inside as well, Tony shooting Natasha a sympathetic smile.

The water from the ocean splashed on the coast with a roar, and Bruce looked out into the darkness with fear. The moon brought beams of light down on the crashing waves, dancing across the water with pure white light that was impossible not to stare at.

Cheerful laughter came from the living room, and Natasha soon found herself gravitating away from Bruce. The couple shared an awkward look as she entered the living room and grabbed a seat on a white couch near the window.

"I guess it was destiny." Steve started, speaking quickly and incomprehensibly.

Tony twisted his face into a grin and laughed. "That's potentially the most Captain America sentence ever."

Although Natasha was enjoying the adorable exchanges, her mind kept drifting to Bruce. Her jade green eyes stared at his slouching figure looking over the cliff and she found her body moving toward him.

"Bruce, you may not be harmless, but I know that you don't mean to do all the damage you do. You have no connection with the damage the green guy does." She sighed, setting her elbows on the rail overlooking the Pacific ocean.

Bruce nodded solemnly and Natasha had a strange feeling of admiration for him. Whenever he panicked about something, he would do so in a way that didn't hurt the team. In other words, it was easy to overlook all the things Bruce did for them.

Grabbing his hand, Natasha continued quietly, "You may not think you're a hero, but I know you are."

Bruce turned to Natasha with a fiery look in his eyes. "It's wrong that I can kill seven million people if you give me one hour." He growled as he looked into the blackness of the sea, the only light from the shining moon.

The cheerful laughter from the living room ceased as they all headed to bed. Natasha's inner self wanted to go with them, but she knew she had to stay and talk to Bruce. The glittery light from the moon shone on his face, making his demeanor less frightening. It was cold outside, a harsh difference from the warm day they were having before night struck. The light from the living room shut off suddenly, and Natasha and Bruce were left in complete darkness.

"I wonder how Clint is doing with being away from his family for so long." Natasha smiled as she jumped into a conversation. Her bright eyes showed some deeper emotion, but Bruce couldn't figure out what it was.

"It must be a hard time for him." Bruce remarked sadly.

"Maybe we should head to sleep so we can catch the sunrise tomorrow." Natasha suggested, facing the extravagant house.

"Yeah, I'm beyond tired." He grinned, looking truly happy for the first time in hours.

* * *

Already, Steve was up. He packed his clothes, his armor, and his toothbrush and toothpaste. There was a faint breeze from the window next to him, and he looked out to see the early beginnings of a sunrise. A single ray of sunlight overtook the ocean, and Steve saw the light reflect onto the house brightly. Tony's property was gorgeous.

Steve brought his gaze away from the window and onto Tony's comfortable sleeping figure. The serenity in his expression made Steve sigh, and he suddenly decided that he would climb back into bed.

Tony opened his eyes and stared up at his companion as he crawled under the sheets of their bed. The fuzzy sheets lulled Tony back to sleep, but Steve stayed up, watching Tony's steady breathing.

* * *

The avengers dumped their stuff onto the plane and walked inside. They all avoided eye contact as Natasha and Bruce recalled their sunrise date earlier in the day.

 **Sunrise Date- 5 hours ago**

 _"Come on Bruce, let's head down to the deck before the sunrise goes away!"_

 _"Okay, I'm coming down in a minute!" Bruce shot Natasha a natural smile and pulled a shirt over his head. It was a simple purple button down shirt with small pockets on the front._

 _He headed down and walked onto the deck next to Natasha. She had on a grey sweatshirt and black leggings that made her look extremely attractive. The hero looked at her with a smile, knowing that he no longer had to hide his affection for her. "You look freakishly beautiful is that." He blushed as she gave him an amused expression._

 _"You are just getting way too confident aren't you." She remarked with a pleasant chuckle._

 _He blushed even more, which was exactly what Natasha wanted._

 _"Are we leaving in the afternoon?" Bruce asked, knowing it would be a few hours before they would have to leave._

 _Natasha gave a short nod and they shared an awkward glance. They knew after this trip nothing would ever be the same between the team. Frankly, a battle is the last thing the group needed._

 _"Hawkeye in the house!" Clint said behind them as he stepped onto the deck._

 _"Right... Well I'm gonna go get something to eat." Bruce sighed with an adorable exasperated look on his face._

Everyone on the plane was nervous, excited, and scared. They were heading to a decent warehouse in the middle of nowhere that used to be a Stark industries building. They headed there with an astounding level of optimism. Because they knew even if they had a big enemy to defeat, they would lose or win together.


	9. Chapter 9

"As I said, it needs work." Tony said in the abandoned Stark industries warehouse.

"You can go get construction workers to fix this place up, right?" Clint asked, stepping on an old piece of wood in what looked like an office. Unhinged doors littered the floor, parts of the ceiling were scattered over the building, and rotted wood was everywhere.

"Look on the bright side, there's stools, beds, and a working bathroom. Once the construction workers come here with their tools it'll be as good as new." Steve offered, hoping to stop all the bad thoughts from happening.

"Considering the poor condition, I think this will be done in a week." Tony nodded with a bold smile.

"You have to be kidding me."

"Nah, he's joking... Right?"

"Oh man, he's not lying is he?"

Everyone looked at Tony in disbelief.

"Am I joking? No, of course I'm not!" Tony exclaimed while resting his arm on Steve's shoulder. "I have an excellent group of workers who can get this done faster than anyone else."

"What are we going to do until then?" Natasha questioned, a beam of light from a dirty window making her eyes a striking color of green.

Tony pondered this, and he looked conflicted for a moment until he snapped his fingers and his face lit up. He grinned and exclaimed, "My friend in DC just went out of town with her two kids and asked me to watch her dog. I'm sure if I told her that we needed somewhere to stay she wouldn't object to us using her house for a week."

"She wouldn't mind if six grown adults stayed in her house?" Bruce shook his head as if it wasn't possible.

"No, she and I go way back." Tony replied, already dialing her number on his phone.

"You better being dying or about to die, because Emma is having her basketball game right now and she will be pissed if I miss five seconds of it." A high-pitched voice said to Tony.

"Relax Laura, I was just gonna ask if some of my friends could stay in your house. Is that okay?" Tony's cool tone of voice replied.

"I could hire a professional dog sitter to take care of Hunter instead."

"Did I mention that Emma and Christa could meet the avengers?" Tony smirked as he noticed that Laura went silent.

"I intend a full meet and greet. Make sure Thor attends. I admit Tony, you were always good at persuading people."

"Wait, you meant that as a complement? Wow, a complement aimed at me from you... I thought I'd never see the day."

"Come to my house before 9:00 PM, that's when we're leaving."

"It's a date!" Tony spoke into the phone as he hung up.

"Nice job Tony, now we have to meet two teenage girls too." Steve complained as the team groaned.

"Hey, I can't do everything you guys want. Let's just get on the damn plane before we discuss anything else."

They made their way to the plane, oblivious to the person lurking behind them. Alisa, her familiar green eyes looking at the team with interest.

* * *

Nine hours later the avengers were knocking on Laura's front door, everyone dreading the visit but Thor.

"Christa, can you get the door?" Came Laura's high-pitched voice as a blond teenager went to the door and opened it.

Christa squinted through the dim 8 o'clock light to see the avengers at her doorstep. "You're not the avengers... Are you?" She asked uncertainly, gasping when the the adults nodded their heads.

"What are you doing at our house?! Ma! Do you know who these people are?" She turned around and shouted in the house.

"Let me handle this sweetheart." Laura said, walking in the doorway wearing an attractive black dress.

"It's the avengers Ma!" Christa said to her in surprise.

Laura gave a gentle laugh and ran over to hug Tony. "You came so late, I almost thought you weren't going to make it. Oh, you guys need something to eat! Give me ten minutes and I'll come back with some cake." Laura smiled and let in the guests.

"Anyone want some tea?" Christa asked, an eager grin on her face.

"Not at this moment, but thank you." Thor said as Tony collapsed in the nearest chair.

Voices filled the house as the avengers got caught up in conversation. The noise level rose higher and higher until the eldest daughter Emma took of her headphones in confusion. She went out of her room and saw her sister in the hallway and the teens started up a conversation.

"What is all this riot?" She cried, her ears ringing from the volume level.

"Once you know who these people are, you won't care _how_ loud they're being." Christa said, her usual nice smile replaced with a nervous grin.

Emma raced over to the living room and what she saw made her heart stop. The teen shook her head, was that really Captain America?

 _"It's impossible..."_ She thought as she watched the team converse in her own living room.

Emma tip-toed in and came up to the adults with her voice shaking as she whispered, "Are you the avengers?"

"It's true." Tony said to her.

"I am Thor, son of Odin."

"I'm Tony Stark, from earth."

"I'm Natasha..."

"I'm Bruce, and I'm dating her."

"I'm Steve Rogers, the leader of the avengers."

"And as you probably know already, I'm Clint."

It was quiet for a minute as Emma tried to sort through her thoughts.

"Come on Emma and Christa, we have to leave now!" Her mom yelled as Emma sighed and stopped thinking about why the avengers were in her house.

 _"It's a shame that the avengers are in my house and I can't even stop to take a selfie."_ Christa thought as she went to get her luggage.

Laura, Emma, and Christa said goodbye, and it was only the avengers and Hunter left. They fed Hunter and all went to different parts of the house in an attempt to have some privacy.

"I'm so tired. Let's go to sleep." Tony whispered to Steve.

"Sure." He replied as they went to the master bedroom.

But something didn't feel right as they hopped into bed. Tony had the odd feeling that someone was watching him, and the feeling persisted until he stood up and looked out the window and came face-to-face with green eyes, which almost looked oddly like Natasha's.

But as soon as he saw the long brown hair he knew who it was.


	10. Final Chapter

A girl with massive dark brown hair and green eyes was staring at Tony through his bedroom window.

"AHHHHH, Get Away You Weirdo!" The billionaire screamed, running back to the bed to wake up Steve.

"Come on Steve, wake up..." He shook the taller man in a hectic frenzy.

"Honestly Tony, it can't be that important." Steve sat up, using his confident tone of voice.

Then, absurdly, they heard a ring from the front doorbell. The team all got out of their beds and crowded around the door nervously.

"Let's just finish this." said Clint without hesitation.

The team suddenly became very confused. There stood Natasha's sister Alisa, with cherry red lips and a sad expression. With agonizing pain written across her face she sighed, "I'm sorry about what happened in the tower, I was being brainwashed by Loki's scepter. But Thanos is already trying to scrap together more infinity stones, we need to stop him before he gets one."

"Anyone else skeptical of this?" Tony asked as he looked at Alisa like she was an enemy.

"Yeah, how do we know this isn't a false ruse just to have Thanos kill us." Clint growled with a furious stare.

But Alisa was patient as she explained, "Thanos is from another planet, and currently he is vulnerable; as the elements from earth's air are reacting with his body and making him weak. But he's distancing himself as far as he can from your team so he can be safe. However, we don't have much time, as Loki is close to finding another infinity stone. I'm positive you can track him Thor, and I'm sure that the rest of the team can destroy Loki _and_ Thanos, our biggest threats currently."

"Okay, but back to my question... How can we trust you?" Tony shot back, giving her a cold stare.

"There are a number of reasons why you should trust me. But giving you all of them would take too much time. But here's one reason-" Natasha's younger sister said, taking something out from behind her back, "I carried a pound of ammunition and weapons over here just in case you guys didn't have any. Plus I came here as fast as I could, which is surprisingly quick for a stolen car, especially one from Thanos."

"Welcome fellow avenger!" Thor exclaimed, clapping his hands together loudly as the team smiled.

"Come on in, you must be so cold." Bruce said politely.

"I'm sorry but I think we need to leave now, as there is no definitive way of seeing if Loki will find an infinity stone or not. Afterwards we can come back here." blurted Alisa.

"Don't panic Alisa, we'll drive to where our plane is and take off immediately." Natasha said as she grabbed her coat from the closet next to her.

* * *

The Avengers were on the plane and were close to the location of Thanos when the plane started shaking violently.

 _"Sir, I must bring this plane to a stop or else we could crash."_ Spoke Jarvis as the heavy plane lurched forward.

"Is there an airport nearby?" Asked Tony as he blindly searched for a seat.

 _"There's an airport exactly 30 minutes from here."_

"Shit..." Said Tony in a low voice.

"Language," Steve muttered with a blush.

With a tiny smile Tony went to the front of the plane nervously. Heart pounding, he screamed over the noise of the plane's shaking, "Everyone get in a chair, we're gonna land this thing."

The team became anxious as they sat in their seats, everyone slightly scared but somewhat excited.

The plane dropped significantly, and with a final tremor, landed.

"Whew, that could have been a disaster. Great job Tony." Said Clint as he slapped Tony on the back with a friendly smile.

"Unfortunately we have another gigantic problem. I don't have half a clue as to where we even _are_." Natasha sighed to Tony, looking at the pilot in anger.

"Don't blame me!" Tony yelled, distancing himself from Clint as he moved toward Natasha.

"Look, sunrise." Alisa said, moving her eyes from the fight in front of her to a window. The sun was low in the horizon, but was rising steadily.

"Can we force this plane in the sky again? We have a future visit to Thanos, and we can't be late." Bruce asked as Natasha nodded in agreement.

"This old thing? It needs some help, but give me 30 minutes and I can get it in the air." Tony nodded.

* * *

At the end of Tony's tinkering he discovered that the cause of the crash was a faulty engine, and he fixed it with enough spare parts so that it could be in the air for a little over an hour. So after the bizarre problem was solved, they started into the air again, and landed at an abandoned house minutes later.

The house was a one story white building with a dense forest behind it.

"Amazingly, I've seen creepier." Clint commented soon after arriving.

After absorbing their surroundings, they inched toward the door. Tony was in his suit, Steve was with his shield, and Bruce was back at the plane.

"We need to breakaway from each other so that there are multiple places to target rather than just one." Steve said as he blasted the door of the house open with his shield.

As the team split up into their respective groups, Natasha and Alisa ran into the dirt-covered house. But it wasn't a mystery, Thanos was here. The selfish alien was lying on a bed, his usual purple color a sickly green.

"I was supposed to be the biggest villain in history." He whispered as Natasha looked at him, a shocked expression on her face. The hero held up her gun, her finger on the trigger, ready to shoot.

Suddenly she was dropping on her knees, a painful headache shooting through her as she dropped her gun

"Loki's trying to enter my brain..." She yelled through the pain, knowing it wasn't easy for someone to enter her thoughts.

"Natasha!" Alisa cried, sitting next to her sister as she said, "It's okay, I'm right here. I promise I won't leave you."

The giant headache suddenly went away, and she looked up to see Thor holding Loki in his arms, anger drawn on his face as the villain cursed loudly.

"Of course your team has beaten me." Loki grumbled as Natasha gritted her teeth with hatred. Suddenly she went stiff, and a huge hand grabbed her from behind. Chaos erupted in front of her as her vision slowly turned black.

* * *

The ambush caused a frenzy, and all the avengers except for Thor (who was holding Loki), attacked Thanos. Luckily the avengers took Natasha and captured the alien.

They both were taken away by Thor, who promised to the humans that he would make sure that both of them ended up in an asgardian prison.

"Any predictions as to what will happen after this?" Tony asked, the glow from the sun lighting up his face as he spoke to Steve.

"Is there any way I could drag you to a baseball game with me?" Steve countered, looking at Tony, who was frozen in his spot in surprise.

"As in a date? Uh... fantastic idea, I mean y-yes." Tony stuttered as Steve cracked up.

"I just made _Tony Stark_ nervous." He said as Tony hid his face in his hands.

After the threat they defeated, the team celebrated with a stay at the beautiful new avengers building.

They were unsure when another threat would arise, but they knew they would defeat it together.


End file.
